Hyduodystamic engine



L. C. SKT. JOHN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

HYDRODYNAMIC ENGINE.

Specicaton of Letters Patent No. 10,869, dated May 2, 1854.

To aZZ whom t may concern -Be it `lrnown that I, LE GRAND C.` Sfr.

p JOHN, of Buffalo, inthe county `of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hydrodynamic Ma chines; and I do hereby `declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and `operation of i l the same, referencebeing had to the annexed drawings, forming part of this speciiication, in` whichl Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine.

l Fig. 2 is an end elevation. Fig. 3 is a plan i small scale. the action of the semicylinder.

of the same. Fig. 4 is a side view of wheel W. Fig. 5 is a view of the ingress and egress chamber, made on a small scale. Fig. 6 is a view of the hollow semicylinder on a Fig. 7` is a diagram showing Fig. S is a side elevation of wheels w p w.

. (Similar letters of reference .in the several iguresdenote the samepart of the machine.

`The object of my invention is to 'furnish the means` of bringing into effective action the force possessed by water in its rise and fall.

` It `consists in the employment of a flo-at U connected by mechanism hereafter to be deand fall of the motion.

scribed,wwith the apparatus for letting the water to and from the chamber in which the float operates: together with mechanism for changing the motion produced by the rise p float into a continuous rotary In the drawing` A is the float operating vertically in the chamber B, as the water is let on` and drawn from said chamber. This chamber B is shown in the drawings by the rectangle a, a', a, am, in red lines, and

c Fig. 6, so that the semicylinder is capableof alternately opening two and closing one of the passages F, G, H, for purposes to be described. The Hoa-t chamber communicates with the portion K of the apparatus, by channelsc, and is so regulated that the whole port-ion of themachineto which water .is admitted through the channel F and the openingD closed by the valve c is double the areaof the float. The chamber K is merely a continuation of the float chamber B, the water flowing in and out through the channels e; the eifect being the same as though the chambers B and K formed a single chamber of double the area ofthe float; which in practice would `be the best mode of construction. The float chamber should be double the area of the float, so that the float will begin t0 move with the least possible depth of water around` it; such arrangement giving th'e greatest vertical movement of the float, without using water in vain. It will be understood that as the' chamber K may form a portion of the float chamber, it may beuncovered, and is not therefore required to be air tight.

In the bottom of chamber B is a pulley z' over which passes the cord g attached at one extremity to the bottom of the float A and by the other extremity to the top of the float, after passing over-the pulley f on the shaft z, so `that the admission of water into the chamber B will raise the float A and revolve the shaft Zt. On each side o f the shaft it `is one of t-he shafts'Z and Z having their bearings in the uprights Za, Za; these shafts have on them the cog wheels W and W meshing into` the wheel 79 `on the shaft .71 but placed loose on said shafts Z Z so as to `be capable of turning upon the shafts when c l moving` so that one of thepawls n.41/ shall slip over one of the ratchets r r fastened to the said shafts Z Z. l c

The semicylinder I is held by the vertical shaft J, the lowerl extremity resting in the bottom of the well E, and the upper secured to the arml'-, so that the oscillation of said arm will give the semicylinder the necessary movement for alternately shutting one of the passages F, Gr, H, and opening two, as above mentioned. l l

At the opposite extremity of the plate M from that through which the shaft J passes is thejshort vertical shaft Q, rising to the level` of the topof the shaft J and carrying an arm P similar to the arm P of the shaft J. From the said arms P P arise the standards R R connected at top by the brace R.

Onv the outer extremity of the shaft h` is the wheel g meshing into the wheel s on the hollow shaft t so as to impart to said wheel the opposite partial revolutions of the shaft h. On the outer extremity of the shaft t, which is situated within the shaft t is held the tube T containing the balls B B, and on the inner extremity of the same shaft is the arm u having attached the stud o, lwhich by the alternate partial revolutions of the shaft t will alternately strike the standards R It', oscillating the arms P P and causing the alternate partial revolutions of the shaft J `required to produce the above described action'of the semicylinder I upon the pas-- sages F, G, I-I. This alternate partial revolution of the shaft t is produced by the alternate running of the balls B B in the opposite ends of the tube T, causing said tube to assume a vertical position, with the opposite ends of the same alternately uppermost.

This motion of the tube T is causedr by thel action of the wheel s on the shaft 15, the stud w of 'which at each alternate partial revolution ofthe shaft h strikes one of the I arms w of the block y holding the tube,

dynamic machine is as follows: Water is admitted to the machine over the top of chamber C, byva chute, or pipe or in any other convenient and suit-able manner. When it is desired to set the apparatus in motion, the valve c is drawn up, admitting water into the chamber B from the chamber C, by the passage I); this raises the float A and by means of the band g and pulley f i turns the shaft 7L and wheel p as shown by arrow l 8.)A causing the wheel W to revolve as shown by arrow 2 and wheel W as indicated by arrow 3, the former rotating its shaft because of the pawl n catching in the ratchet r and the latter slipping over its shaft by reason of the slipping of the pawl fn, over the ratchet 7'. The rotation of the shaft Z turns the wheel z as indicated by arrowrt, communicating a similar inward rotation of the wheel s meshing into it. The rotation of the wheel p produces a revolution of the wheel s and shaft t in the opposite direction from that of the shaft h, until'the st-ud w strikes one of the arms m (Fig. 3), land the balls B B running to the opposite extremity of the tube T causes the tube to rapidly assume a vertical position, revolving the shaft t within the shaft t, and carrying the stud v smartly against the standard R, moving the arm P in the direction of arrow 5 and revolving the cylinder I as shown by arrow 6, so as to o-pen the passages F and G and close the passage H, as shown by line m fm, Fig. 7. The opening of the passage F lets the water from the ioat well, and causes the descent of the float, which produces directly the reverse action upon the various shafts and wheels which obtained at the rising of the float, namely the wheels W W revolve in the opposite direction from that shown by arrows 2 and 3, causing the pawl a of the wheel W to catch in the ratchet /v and revolve the shaft Z and wheel z as shown by arrow 7 thus giving the wheels a 2 the same rotation as caused by the rising of the float, so that a continuous rotary motion of those wheels is produced by the rise and fall of the float. wheel p caused by the descent of the float, produces a corresponding reverse motion o f the wheel s, carrying the stud w around to the arm w, and turning the shaft t until the balls B B change their vposition in the' tube T, and running to the other extremity from that previously occupied, carry the tube to a vertical position, the reverse of that previously described. The rapid falling of the tube causes the stud o vto press against the standard R and move the arm P as shown by arrow 8, producing thereby a reverse revolution in the shaft J and semicylinder I from that shown by Yarrow 6. This closes the passage G and opens 'the passages H and F, (line m m Fig. 7 admitting water to the float and producing the 4effects first described as the results of said wheels W W, the wheels a a being by suitable gearing connect-ed with the machinery to be driven.

The float is loaded with a weight equal to half the power due to the head of water raising the float, so as to insure Yregularity of power in both ascent and descent of the float. The manner inV which water is fed to the chamber C will be left to local circum- The reverse movement of thel stances as also will many .of the various dei tails of the above described arrangement.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The herein described arrangement of mechanism for operating the tube T so; that it shall produce the'alternate opening and closing Iof the ingress and egress passages I-I and Gr, for letting water to the float land drawing Off the same, substantially as herein fu 11y set forth.

2. I also claim the arrangement of the Wheels W, W, and p with their respective shafts and ratchets r r', and paWls n n', for causing a continued rotary motion of the Wheels@` z, from the alternate motion of the oat substantially as herein specified.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name before two subscribing Wt- 10 nesses.

LE GRAND C. sT. JOHN.

Witnesses:

THos. J. DUDLEY, Jr., A. S. MERRILL. 

